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Microplastics decrease the toxicity of sulfamethoxazole to marine algae (Skeletonema costatum) at the cellular and molecular levels
Summary
Researchers investigated the combined toxicity of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole and five types of microplastics on the marine alga Skeletonema costatum. They found that certain microplastics actually decreased the toxicity of the antibiotic by adsorbing it, creating a protective "shelter" effect, though polystyrene combined with the antibiotic caused higher oxidative stress. The study suggests that microplastics can alter the bioavailability and toxicity of co-occurring pollutants in marine environments through adsorption interactions.
Microplastics (MPs) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) are ubiquitous in various aquatic environments, but little is known about their joint toxicity mechanism on marine organisms. This study investigated the individual and joint toxicity of SMX and five MPs, including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS) and bioplastic polylactic acid (PLA), on Skeletonema costatum. The inhibition rates (IR) of the single MPs systems (50 mg/L) followed the order of PP > PE > PLA > PS > PET, while the addition of 0.3 mg/L SMX significantly decreased the toxicity of PP, PE and PLA in the joint system due to the "shelter" effect from MPs adsorption. As for the PS and SMX joint system, the malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were higher than those of the other joint systems. The metabolomic results showed that SMX downregulated glycerophospholipid and amino acid metabolism. PS caused the downregulation of glycerophospholipids, carbohydrates and amino acid via the hetero-aggregation with algae. The co-exposure of SMX and PS alleviated the perturbation of alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism of algae compared with SMX. These findings enhance our understanding of the potential mechanisms of the MPs and organic pollutants joint toxicity in the marine environment.
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